| Unit name | Shakespearean Tragedy: Textual and Literary Criticism |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGLM3025 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Publicover |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The course focuses on the main four tragedies - Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth; on the interpretative challenges which these plays pose; and on the differing ways in which differing critical approaches address those challenges. It addresses the usefulness of the notion of tragedy in thinking of these plays; examines complex textual problems which surround them; and explores the role of creativity in understanding these plays by examining a) Shakespeare's rewriting of his sources and b) other writers' rewritings of and responses to Shakespeare..
Students will have learned to discuss and to write lucidly about some of the most complex texts in the English language, and about tragedy, one of the most complex critical terms in literary criticism.
1 x 2 hour seminar per week, plus one-to-one discussion in consultation hours where desired.
1 essay of 4,000 words and a 1000-word presentation in class.
William Shakespeare, Hamlet William Shakespeare, Othello William Shakespeare, King Lear William Shakespeare, Macbeth
